This invention pertains to a system and method of correlating general patient health information and implant device data, and more particularly for correlating patient health information and cardiac rhythm management device data.
Implantable cardiac rhythm management devices (xe2x80x9cCRM devicesxe2x80x9d) are well established therapeutic devices for treating patients who have experienced one or more documented episodes of hemodynamically significant ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, bradycardia, or heart failure. Since their clinical inception more than two decades ago, CRM devices have evolved from basic to sophisticated electronic devices that provide physicians with a variety of clinically useful functions with which to treat patients.
Presently, even the most basic of CRM device typically has more than one tachycardia detection criterion, tiered therapy which combines bradycardia support pacing with various antitachycardia pacing modes, low-energy cardioversion, defibrillation, and data logging capabilities. The data logging capabilities within CRM devices have become increasingly important, since the amount of data required for the CRM device operation increases proportionally with the increase in CRM functions. Efficiently processing this large amount of data has become possible with the incorporation of microprocessors and memory within the CRM device.
Once a CRM device has been implanted, the physician interacts with the CRM device through a clinical programmer. The clinical programmer establishes a communication link with the implanted CRM device. The communication link allows instructions to be sent to the electronic circuitry of the CRM device and clinical data regarding the occurrence and treatment of a patient""s cardiac arrhythmias and the CRM device""s operation to be sent from the electronic circuitry of the CRM device to the clinical programmer. The typical programmer is a microprocessor-based unit that creates a communication link between the implanted CRM device and the programmer, and a graphics display screen that presents a patient""s recorded cardiac data and CRM system information to the physician.
As the number of differing health data recorded by CRM device increases with each new generation of CRM device and the number of general patient health data increases, manufacturers and clinicians alike are becoming more sensitive to the role that time-efficient data interpretation plays in the physician""s diagnosis of the patient. As CRM devices become increasingly complex, the interpretation of recorded arrhythmic episodes, operation of the CRM device, and the effect of changing a patient""s therapy can be a challenging and time-consuming task.
Therefore, a need exists for improved CRM system and programmer technology that facilitates and correlates the identification of relevant information regarding the patient""s clinical status. There is a need in the art for a system that correlates multiple data sets and displays same to the physician.
The present invention is generally directed to a system and method for presenting data from the CRM device simultaneously with patient health data and/or other patient data. The data so presented provides a physician with a visual display of more than one data set and thus the correlation between the data. Such a display may aid the physician in diagnosing and treating a patient.
Accordingly, one embodiment provides a cardiac rhythm management system including a cardiac rhythm management device and a programmer, the programmer being adapted to receive data from the cardiac rhythm management device. The programmer is adapted to correlate a first data set and a second data set for display to a physician. The first data set may be continuous, asynchronous or periodic data. The second data set may be asynchronous, continuous, or periodic data.
In another embodiment of the invention, the data is downloaded from the programmer into a data processor, which correlates the data. The correlated data is then output to a display device. One example of a data processor is a computer running appropriate software. One example of the display device is a computer monitor.
A further embodiment provides a display of the reoccurring first data against time and a second data imposed on the time axis to indicate a change in the patient""s therapy. The second data may include changes to a patient""s therapy including medication changes, medical device changes, or changes in operational parameters of a medical device.
Another embodiment provides a graphical display of data of the same type, which were recorded under different conditions, for example at different times or when the patient was under different treatment. The different circumstances are also displayed.
In another embodiment, the same type of data is heart rate variability data and the different circumstances may be the time at which the heart rate variability data was measured.
These and other embodiments, aspects, advantages, and features of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following description of the invention and referenced drawings or by practice of the invention. The aspects, advantages, and features of the invention are realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities, procedures, and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.